Grow Your Plant-Based Vegan Brand With a Healthy Marketing Diet.

Posted by Anya Sleezer << back to blog

Last Updated on January 30, 2023

COVID-19 created a “new normal” that will stay with us long after the lockdowns are over, people have been vaccinated, and the pandemic has ended. This goes far beyond working from home or ditching business trips for Zoom. For all the bad things COVID-19 brought (and there were a lot), the pandemic encouraged people to boost their immune systems, and overall live healthier lives. Millions of Americans are now asking the bigger question: What can we do to avoid pandemics in the future and be healthier?

For WFPB (whole foods, plant-based) and vegan advocates, as well as people in the wellness industry, the answer is simple: fighting our national addiction to animal-based foods and products, one person at a time.

If you’re already on Team Vegan, and are here for tips on marketing your brand, click here to get to the “meat” of the article.

If you’re still not convinced that diversifying your business to serve the growing population of plant-based consumers is a smart decision, read on.

The global animal agriculture industry contributes to climate change, as well as the development and spread of pandemics. Harmful viruses and bacteria travel from wild animals to livestock to humans. With more mouths to feed worldwide, the threat of future pandemics spreading from animals to humans is real.

But it’s not just about saving the earth or stopping the spread of a virus or bacteria: a diet built around animal products harms the health of the population as a whole, contributing to heart disease, high cholesterol, HBP, and more.

More people are seeing this, as a 2020 study found that 9.6 million Americans now follow a plant-based diet—that’s almost 3% of the population!

These are huge numbers, and are only going to grow. Even if you’re not vegan or vegetarian yourself, or your business isn’t strictly plant-based, you’re missing a major opportunity by not diversifying and serving customers in this growing sector.

Plant-based diets and veganism aren’t just fads that will go away when COVID-19 subsides. It’s a movement that stands to fundamentally change our culture, economy, and communities, because it’s centered around one of our most fundamental institutions: the dinner table.

COVID-19 is energizing this movement and creating momentum for brands in this space. If you’re one of them, or want to become one, now is the time to invest in expanding to include vegan foods and products, or risk being left behind by brands that do.

More people are open to hearing the vegan message than ever before, as former detractors are now potential customers, and even advocates. This offers you a unique opportunity, not only to grow your WFPB or vegan business or product line, but more importantly to help make our planet a healthier, happier, and safer place for us all.

While the opportunity is there, cutting through the noise will take a solid, strategic marketing game plan that mixes elements of cause marketing and traditional marketing. Don’t know where to start? Here’s a marketing diet for growing your WFPB or vegan business.

Tell Your Story.

It’s not enough to list facts and figures; you have to tell a story. Who you are, what you stand for, what you offer, and how you hope to make a difference.

WFPB and vegan marketing are unique from traditional marketing, as it’s 30% cause marketing and 70% product & service. It’s important to remember that customers aren’t just eating and buying vegan or WFPB because of the price or taste; they’re doing so because they believe in the cause, whether it’s for health reasons, personal ethics, or some combination.

However, take care not to switch the two, and focus your messaging 70% on cause marketing and 30% on product & service. Even if potential customers believe in your message and your mission, they will still base their final purchasing decision on factors such as quality, cost, and most especially, your brand. Why should customers choose you instead of someone else? What makes your brand better, or at least unique, from others in this space?

Create Content. Generate Value. Build A Community.

Content marketing is the heart of any business, but succeeding at it isn’t just producing content for contents’ sake—it’s focused on generating value and building a community. Nowhere is this more true than in the WFPB and vegan industry. Communities are the heart of this market, as people want to come together to swap recipes, share products, generate ideas, or simply be in the company of like-minded individuals.

What kind of content should you create? Here’s the not-so-secret secret: Your Content Must Generate Value. Put on your “thinking cap” and ask: “What content would I like to read or watch?” Chances are, your audience wants the same content, and they will reward you for creating it.

While creating a community is priority #1, don’t lose sight of your goal: growing your business. Make sure your content generates leads and conversions, and drives sales. The trick is to do so without being too “salesy.” It’s a fine line, but we can help you navigate it

Be Flexible.

Part of creating a conversation with your customers is about being flexible and leveraging the insights you get from it. For example, your customers may want a different type of plant-based food than you currently offer. Supplying your customer’s changing demands is key to your business’ continued success. If enough customers are asking for a particular product, it may soon be your biggest revenue generator!

You also need to be flexible to the market itself. For instance, you may own a vegan boutique and prefer to sell your goods in your store. However, brands that refused to sell online were wiped out by the lockdowns. Even when the pandemic subsides, the market has spoken and millions of people prefer shopping online. Will you be there when they do?

CRM is a vegan’s best friend.

To turn your community of like-minded followers into customers, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform is your new best friend. A CRM lets you collect useful data and analytics from the entire customer journey: where they come from, what they want to buy and when, and what motivates them.

A robust CRM system lets you categorize different clients and targeted prospects, build different messaging campaigns for each customer persona, send customized messages and emails, and keep track of past campaign’s performance. There are many CRM systems out there and not all of them are created equal.

Does it sound complicated? It 100% can be. Talk to us and we can help simplify the complexity.

Don’t Forget Social and Search.

It seems obvious, but it’s too important not to mention: You need to be on relevant social media platforms, and have a strong ranking on search engines. These platforms are not only essential for building communities (see above), but they’re also vital for being found online and establishing credibility.

There are so many brands in the WFPB and vegan industry, and it’s only going to grow. If you’re not where your customers are, you’re going to be ignored. It’s as simple as that.

Don’t Be A Fad.

WFPB and vegan foods and products are not a fad or trend; they’re here to stay. Make sure your brand does too. Don’t lose sight of long-term goals for the sake of short-term benefits. For example, while having a promotional discount is great if it gets customers in the door, constantly running discounts can make your brand look low-value. On the flip side, if you price your products too high you’ll run the risk of losing people who are buying food on a budget. Remember, your goal is to get more people to buy WFPB and vegan, not less.

But it’s not just about generating sales—it’s about having values. This goes back to point #1. What does your company stand for? If it’s just “make money selling meat-alternatives” then you may sell some black bean burgers, but your customers won’t stick around for the long haul. As soon as someone offers an alternative to your meat-alternative, you’ll lose customers.

People who choose WFPB and vegan do so for multiple reasons, but it almost always boils down to this simple fact—they believe in it. So show customers why you believe in it too, and why they should believe in you.

As you can see, WFPB and vegan marketing isn’t like regular cause marketing or traditional marketing, though it has elements of both. Winning in this space requires a unique marketing strategy and most importantly, a passion for the cause. Contact us and see how we can help your plant-based business grow.

Be conscious about vegan conscientious consumers

Now more than ever, customers care less about your brand value — and more about your brand’s values. We call these people conscientious consumers, and engaging them isn’t easy or intuitive. Let Levo show you how! Visit our page: An Introduction To Vegan Conscientious Consumerism and download our free guide.

Anya Sleezer

Anya Sleezer is the owner of Levo, a full–service marketing agency, focused on helping companies from all industries who are concerned with their marketing results, traffic, branding, advertising, or websites.

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